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Papić B, Žvokelj L, Pislak Ocepek M, Hočevar B, Kozar M, Rus R, Zajc U, Kušar D. The Diagnostic Value of qPCR Quantification of Paenibacillus larvae in Hive Debris and Adult Bees for Predicting the Onset of American Foulbrood. Vet Sci 2024; 11:442. [PMID: 39330821 PMCID: PMC11436083 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci11090442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2024] [Revised: 09/18/2024] [Accepted: 09/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/28/2024] Open
Abstract
American foulbrood (AFB) is a serious infectious disease of honeybees (Apis mellifera) caused by Paenibacillus larvae. Increased P. larvae count in hive-related material is associated with an increased risk of AFB. Here, we quantified P. larvae cells in 106 adult bee and 97 hive debris samples using quantitative PCR (qPCR); 66/106 adult bee and 66/97 hive debris samples were collected simultaneously from the same bee colony (paired-sample design). The corresponding bee colonies were also examined for the presence of AFB clinical signs. A binary logistic regression model to distinguish between AFB-affected and unaffected honeybee colonies showed a strong diagnostic accuracy of both sample types for predicting the onset of AFB based on P. larvae counts determined by qPCR. The colonies with a P. larvae count greater than 4.5 log cells/adult bee or 7.3 log cells/mL hive debris had a 50% probability of being clinically affected and were categorized as high-risk. The AFB-unaffected colonies had significantly lower P. larvae counts than the AFB-affected colonies, but the latter did not differ significantly in P. larvae counts in relation to the severity of clinical signs. Both bee-related sample types had a high diagnostic value for predicting disease outcome based on P. larvae counts. These results improve the understanding of the relationship between P. larvae counts and AFB occurrence, which is essential for early detection of high-risk colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bojan Papić
- Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Lucija Žvokelj
- Institute of Pathology, Wild Animals, Fish and Bees, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Metka Pislak Ocepek
- Institute of Pathology, Wild Animals, Fish and Bees, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Barbara Hočevar
- Institute of Pathology, Wild Animals, Fish and Bees, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Monika Kozar
- Institute of Pathology, Wild Animals, Fish and Bees, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Rene Rus
- Institute of Pathology, Wild Animals, Fish and Bees, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Urška Zajc
- Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Darja Kušar
- Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Obshta O, Zabrodski MW, Soomro T, Wilson G, Masood F, Thebeau J, Silva MCB, Biganski S, Kozii IV, Koziy RV, Raza MF, Jose MS, Simko E, Wood SC. Oxytetracycline-resistant Paenibacillus larvae identified in commercial beekeeping operations in Saskatchewan using pooled honey sampling. J Vet Diagn Invest 2023; 35:645-654. [PMID: 37705301 PMCID: PMC10621554 DOI: 10.1177/10406387231200178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
American foulbrood (AFB) is an infectious disease of honey bee brood caused by the endospore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. P. larvae spores are resilient in the environment, thus colonies with clinical signs of AFB are often destroyed by burning to eradicate the causative agent. To prevent outbreaks of AFB, oxytetracycline metaphylaxis is widely used in North America, resulting in sustained selective pressure for oxytetracycline resistance in P. larvae. To determine if antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is present among P. larvae isolates from commercial beekeeping operations in Saskatchewan, Canada, we performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing of 718 P. larvae samples cultured from pooled, extracted honey collected from 52 beekeepers over a 2-y period, 2019 and 2020. We found that 65 of 718 (9%) P. larvae samples collected from 8 beekeepers were resistant to oxytetracycline with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 64-256 µg/mL. Eight of 718 (1%) samples from 4 beekeepers had intermediate resistance to oxytetracycline (MIC: 4-8 µg/mL). Susceptibility testing for tylosin and lincomycin indicated that P. larvae in Saskatchewan continue to be susceptible to these antimicrobials (tylosin MIC: <1 µg/mL, lincomycin MIC: ≤2 µg/mL). Most oxytetracycline-resistant P. larvae samples were identified in northeastern Saskatchewan. Whole-genome sequence analysis identified the P. larvae-specific plasmid pMA67 with tetracycline-resistance gene tet(L) in 9 of 11 oxytetracycline-resistant P. larvae isolates sequenced. Our results highlight the advantage of using pooled, extracted honey as a surveillance tool for monitoring AMR in P. larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleksii Obshta
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | | | - Tayab Soomro
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | - Geoff Wilson
- Crops and Irrigation Branch, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Saskatchewan, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Fatima Masood
- Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | - Jenna Thebeau
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | - Marina C. B. Silva
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | - Sarah Biganski
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | | | - Roman V. Koziy
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | - M. Fahim Raza
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | - Midhun S. Jose
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | - Elemir Simko
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
| | - Sarah C. Wood
- Departments of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada
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Matiašovic J, Bzdil J, Papežíková I, Čejková D, Vasina E, Bizos J, Navrátil S, Šedivá M, Klaudiny J, Pikula J. Genomic analysis of Paenibacillus larvae isolates from the Czech Republic and the neighbouring regions of Slovakia. Res Vet Sci 2023; 158:34-40. [PMID: 36913910 DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2023.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
Paenibacillus larvae is the causative agent of American foulbrood (AFB), a devastating disease of honeybee larvae. In the Czech Republic, two large infested regions were recognised. This study aimed to analyse P. larvae strains occurring in the Czech Republic in the years 2016-2017 and to characterise the genetic structure of their population with the use of Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus genotyping (ERIC), multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and whole genome sequence (WGS) analysis. The results were complemented by the analysis of isolates collected in the year 2018 in areas of Slovakia located near the Czechia-Slovakia border. ERIC genotyping revealed that 78.9% of tested isolates belonged to the ERIC II genotype and 21.1% to ERIC I genotype. MLST showed six sequence types with ST10 and ST11 being the most frequent among isolates. Within six isolates we found discrepancies in correlations between MLST and ERIC genotypes. The use of MLST and WGS analysis of isolates revealed that each of the large infested geographic regions had its own dominating P. larvae strains. We assume that these strains represented primary sources of infection in the affected areas. In addition, the sporadic presence of strains identified by core genome analysis as genetically related was unveiled in geographically distant regions suggesting possible human-mediated transmission of AFB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ján Matiašovic
- Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100 Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Jaroslav Bzdil
- Ptácy s.r.o., Valašská Bystřice 194, 756 27 Valašská Bystřice, Czech Republic
| | - Ivana Papežíková
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Darina Čejková
- Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technická 12, 616 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Evgeniya Vasina
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Bizos
- Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 62100 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Stanislav Navrátil
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Mária Šedivá
- Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84538 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Jaroslav Klaudiny
- Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84538 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Jiří Pikula
- Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého tř. 1946/1, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic
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Binney BM, Pragert H, Foxwell J, Gias E, Birrell ML, Phiri BJ, Quinn O, Taylor M, Ha HJ, Hall RJ. Genomic analysis of the population structure of Paenibacillus larvae in New Zealand. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1161926. [PMID: 37152741 PMCID: PMC10157257 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1161926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023] Open
Abstract
New Zealand is a remote country in the South Pacific Ocean. The isolation and relatively late arrival of humans into New Zealand has meant there is a recorded history of the introduction of domestic species. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) were introduced to New Zealand in 1839, and the disease American foulbrood was subsequently found in the 1870s. Paenibacillus larvae, the causative agent of American foulbrood, has been genome sequenced in other countries. We sequenced the genomes of P. larvae obtained from 164 New Zealand apiaries where American foulbrood was identified in symptomatic hives during visual inspection. Multi-locus sequencing typing (MLST) revealed the dominant sequence type to be ST18, with this clonal cluster accounting for 90.2% of isolates. Only two other sequence types (with variants) were identified, ST5 and ST23. ST23 was only observed in the Otago area, whereas ST5 was limited to two geographically non-contiguous areas. The sequence types are all from the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus I (ERIC I) genogroup. The ST18 and ST5 from New Zealand and international P. larvae all clustered by sequence type. Based on core genome MLST and SNP analysis, localized regional clusters were observed within New Zealand, but some closely related genomes were also geographically dispersed, presumably due to hive movements by beekeepers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara M. Binney
- Animal Health Laboratory, Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
| | - Hayley Pragert
- Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Jonathan Foxwell
- Animal Health Laboratory, Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
| | - Edna Gias
- Animal Health Laboratory, Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
| | - Meredith L. Birrell
- Animal Health Laboratory, Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
| | - Bernard J. Phiri
- Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Oliver Quinn
- Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Michael Taylor
- Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Hye Jeong Ha
- Animal Health Laboratory, Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
| | - Richard J. Hall
- Animal Health Laboratory, Biosecurity New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
- *Correspondence: Richard J. Hall,
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Amšiejute P, Jurgelevičius V, Mačiulskis P, Butrimaite-Ambrozevičiene C, Pilevičiene S, Janeliunas Z, Kutyriova T, Jacevičiene I, Paulauskas A. Molecular diversity of Paenibacillus larvae strains isolated from Lithuanian apiaries. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:959636. [PMID: 36072387 PMCID: PMC9444134 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.959636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Paenibacillus larvae bacterium is known to be the causative agent of American foulbrood (AFB), a widespread, highly contagious and fatal disease in honey bees (Apis mellifera). There are four genotypes of Paenibacillus larvae that are named after their enterobacterial repetitive consensus (ERIC), and a fifth ERIC genotype has recently been found. In this study, a total of 108 independent P. larvae isolates from different geographical regions in Lithuania collected between 2011 and 2021 were investigated by molecular methods. The aims of this study were to detect which enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) genotype is the most common in Lithuania apiaries, identify and differentiate subtypes of the defined genotype by using multiple-locus variable number of tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA), and review how bacterial molecular diversity has changed over time in different parts of Lithuania. The obtained molecular analysis results showed that 100% of P. larvae bacterial isolates from Lithuania belong to the ERIC I genotype and can be differentiated to nine different subtypes by using the MLVA and capillary electrophoresis methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina Amšiejute
- National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
- Paulina Amšiejute
| | | | - Petras Mačiulskis
- National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | | | - Simona Pilevičiene
- National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Zygimantas Janeliunas
- National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute, Vilnius, Lithuania
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
| | - Tatjana Kutyriova
- National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | | | - Algimantas Paulauskas
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
- *Correspondence: Algimantas Paulauskas
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Molecular Detection and Differentiation of Arthropod, Fungal, Protozoan, Bacterial and Viral Pathogens of Honeybees. Vet Sci 2022; 9:vetsci9050221. [PMID: 35622749 PMCID: PMC9145064 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci9050221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The honeybee Apis mellifera is highly appreciated worldwide because of its products, but also as it is a pollinator of crops and wild plants. The beehive is vulnerable to infections due to arthropods, fungi, protozoa, bacteria and/or viruses that manage to by-pass the individual and social immune mechanisms of bees. Due to the close proximity of bees in the beehive and their foraging habits, infections easily spread within and between beehives. Moreover, international trade of bees has caused the global spread of infections, several of which result in significant losses for apiculture. Only in a few cases can infections be diagnosed with the naked eye, by direct observation of the pathogen in the case of some arthropods, or by pathogen-associated distinctive traits. Development of molecular methods based on the amplification and analysis of one or more genes or genomic segments has brought significant progress to the study of bee pathogens, allowing for: (i) the precise and sensitive identification of the infectious agent; (ii) the analysis of co-infections; (iii) the description of novel species; (iv) associations between geno- and pheno-types and (v) population structure studies. Sequencing of bee pathogen genomes has allowed for the identification of new molecular targets and the development of specific genotypification strategies.
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Papić B, Golob M, Zdovc I, Avberšek J, Pislak Ocepek M, Kušar D. Using whole-genome sequencing to assess the diversity of Paenibacillus larvae within an outbreak and a beekeeping operation. Microb Genom 2021; 7. [PMID: 34860153 PMCID: PMC8767340 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The spore-forming bacterium
Paenibacillus larvae
is the causative agent of American foulbrood (AFB), a devastating disease of honeybees (Apis mellifera). In the present study, we used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to investigate an extensive outbreak of AFB in northwestern Slovenia in 2019. A total of 59
P
.
larvae
isolates underwent WGS, of which 40 originated from a single beekeeping operation, to assess the diversity of
P. larvae
within the beekeeping operation, apiary and colony. By applying a case-specific single-linkage threshold of 34 allele differences (AD), whole-genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST) identified two outbreak clusters represented by ERIC II-ST11 clones. All isolates from a single beekeeping operation fell within cluster 1 and the median pairwise AD between them was 10 (range=1–22). The median pairwise AD for apiaries of the same beekeeping operation ranged from 8 to 11 (min.=1, max.=22). For colonies of the same apiary and honey samples from these colonies, the median pairwise AD ranged from 8 to 14 (min.=1, max.=20). The maximum within-cluster distance was 33 pairwise AD for cluster 1 and 44 for cluster 2 isolates. The minimum distance between the outbreak-related and non-related isolates was 37 AD, confirming the importance of associated epidemiological data for delineating outbreak clusters. The observed transmission events could be explained by the activities of honeybees and beekeepers. The present study provides insight into the genetic diversity of
P. larvae
at different levels and thus provides information for future AFB surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bojan Papić
- Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Majda Golob
- Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Irena Zdovc
- Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jana Avberšek
- Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Metka Pislak Ocepek
- Institute of Pathology, Wild Animals, Fish and Bees, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Darja Kušar
- Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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